John Paul II on the Bread of Life

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

After the miraculous multiplication of the loaves, Christ says to the crowds who were seeking him: “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give you.” “How difficult it was for Jesus hearers to make this passage from the sign to the mystery it indicates: from the daily bread to ‘the bread which endures to eternal life!’ Nor is it easy for us.” (John Paul II, Homily on May 31, 1997.)

It is clear that Jesus does not eliminate normal concerns and pursuit of daily bread. Man has indeed need of food and drink if he is to live. The human body needs food and drink to live, grow, develop, and work. This is the food of temporal, transient life, which ends with death. But the Lord points out that the real meaning of our earthly existence lies in eternity. In fact, the human soul also has need of food and drink in order to persevere in the journey towards eternal life. Man needs the Bread of life in order to be able to life in eternity the life that comes from God. (cf. Homily on June 13, 1987)

And so Jesus declares with consoling clarity: “My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world…I am the Bread of life, he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall not thirst.” Jesus refers to the manna which God gave to the Jews when they crossed the desert. “We, too, like the people of Israel,…live on earth the experience of Exodus: the ‘promised land’ is Heaven. God, who did not abandon his people in the desert, does not abandon man in his earthly pilgrimage either. He has given him ‘bread’ that is able to sustain him along the way: the ‘bread’ is Christ. He is first of all the food of the soul with revealed truth, and then with his very Person present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.” (Homily on August 5, 1979)

Proclaiming that the Heavenly Father gives us the true bread from heaven, Jesus “bears witness to God, who is not only Creator and Lord of creation, but is, at the same time, Father. And the Father feeds and nourishes his children. He feeds…and nourishes them with the food and drink of eternal life: the Most Holy Eucharist. The Church lives daily from the Eucharist; she lives unceasingly from it.”(Homily on May 29, 1986)

“In the Eucharist is inscribed the most profound thing in the life of every man…Here, the life of man, through the Eucharist, is inscribed in the mystery of the living God. In this mystery – as in the eternal Book of Life – man surpasses the limits of contemporaneity, proceeding towards the hope of eternal life. Here, the Church of the Incarnate Word, through the Eucharist, causes the inhabitants of the eternal Jerusalem to be born.” (Homily on May 22, 1983)

Mindful of Jesus’ promise: “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven”, we ask God our Father before communion: “Give us today our daily bread.” This daily bread is the Body of Christ without which we have no life within us. As children of heaven, we urgently need the bread of heaven. When St. Catherine of Siena was not able to receive holy communion, her body suffered more than if racked by intense pain, and she would pray: “Father, I am hungry. For the love of God, give my soul food!” The Bread from heaven “is not less necessary to the development of the divine life in the faithful than material food is for the preservation and development of bodily life. The Eucharist is not a luxury offered to those who would want to live more intimately united with Christ: the Eucharist is a necessity of Christian life.” (General Audience of June 8, 1983)

Like the people who said to Jesus: “Give us this bread always”, so when we pray to the Father to “give us this day our daily bread”, we ought to ask above all for the living Bread come down from heaven with which the Father feeds his children. “From our first Communion until the day we die, may we have a deep yearning for Christ, the true bread which gives life to the world.” (Homily in Cardiff, June 2, 1982) (John Paul II and the Mystery of the Eucharist, 58-60)

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for 

Falsity is the Sign of the Devil

The Kiss of Judas

In his Angelus Message last Sunday, August 26, 2012, the Holy  Father spoke on the disciples who abandoned the Lord on account of the difficulty of the teachings on the Eucharist. His commentary on Judas Iscariot is worth reflecting on: 

"In the end, Jesus knew that even among the Twelve there was one who did not believe: Judas. Judas too could have left like the other disciples did; perhaps he should have left had he wanted to be honest. Instead he stayed with Jesus. He stayed not because of faith, not because of love, but with the secret plan to get back at the Master. Why? Because Judas felt that Jesus had betrayed him and he decided to betray Jesus in turn. Judas was a zealot and wanted a victorious Messiah who would lead a revolt against the Romans. Jesus frustrated these expectations. The problem is that Judas did not leave and his gravest fault was falsity, which is the sign of the devil. Because of this Jesus said to the Twelve: “One among you is a devil!” (John 6:70). Let us pray to the Virgin Mary, who helps us to believe in Jesus, as St. Peter did, to be ever more sincere with him and with everyone."

I think these are very courageous words. I think dissenters in the Church should not hide their dissent under the guise of Intellectual or Academic Freedom. If you do not believe... by all means, leave! Don't dissent and still call yourself Catholics! Falsity is the sign of the devil.


Read the entire address: ZENIT - On Believing in Jesus, Bread of Life

Truth is truth, there is no compromise

Head of the Baptist, Photo of Louie Nacorda

On the occasion of the Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the Holy Father spoke on the Baptist's witness to Christ:

"Dear brothers and sisters, celebrating the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist also reminds us -- Christians in our own times -- that we cannot give into compromise when it comes to our love for Christ, for his Word, for his Truth. The Truth is the Truth; there is no compromise. The Christian life requires, as it were, the "martyrdom" of daily fidelity to the Gospel; the courage, that is, to allow Christ to increase in us and to direct our thoughts and actions. But this can only occur in our lives if our relationship with God is strong. Prayer is not time lost, nor does it steal space away from our activities, even those that are apostolic; it is exactly the opposite: only if we are able to have a life of faithful, constant, trusting prayer, will God himself give us the ability and strength to live in happiness and peace, to overcome difficulties and to courageously bear witness to him. May St. John the Baptist intercede for us, that we might always maintain the primacy of God in our lives."


In the debates on the RH bill, it is important to keep this in mind: Truth is the Truth; there can be no compromise. Let us be faithful to the Gospel.

Dissenters in the Church: Let us allow Christ to increase in us and to direct out thoughts and actions.

Read the entire address: ZENIT - On the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

On the Dormition of our Lady

Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
⁹ May your priests be clothed with your righteousness; 
    may your faithful people sing for joy.

(Psalm 131, 8)

Evacuation at the Holy Family Church

Even the sparrow has found a home, 

and the swallow a nest for herself, 

where she may have her young--

a place near your altar, 

O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 

(Psalm 84:3)

A beautiful picture taken by Fr. Aris Sison of evacuees who took refuge in the Holy Family Church during the flood caused by the Habagat last August 7, 2012.

Transfiguration and the Kingship of Christ

In the mystery of the Transfiguration, our Lord revealed to his disciples the splendor of His Divinity which, till then, was hiding underneath the humble veil of His humanity. In becoming man, God the Son's Divinity was not diminished. The glory which He made manifest on the mountain of the Transfiguration was the glory of God's only begotten Son, full of grace and truth.

Indeed, Christ is truly the One in whom the Father set his seal. All things in heaven and on earth and under the earth has been given to Him by the Father. Thus, the vision in the Book of the Prophet Daniel, which was read in today's Mass, speaks of the Son of man receiving from the Father government, honor, and kingship. Every people, nation, and language will serve Him.

The Kingship of Christ is real. It is not a myth created by the human imagination. The world and everything in it belongs to Him. If this were so, why are government institutions excluded from His dominion? Why are public schools excluded from His Kingship? Why do people say that the Lord has no say on whatever married couples do in the privacy of their bedroom? Why do women say that the Lord cannot exercise His authority over their wombs?

Aren't these clear manifestations of defiance to the kingship of Christ? His dominion extends beyond the walls of the Church. His kingdom covers society as well. Let us not forget the public domain of Christ the Lord. He is God's beloved Son. Listen to Him!

Prayer by Catholic Congressmen

Calling all REAL CATHOLIC MEMBERS OF CONGRESS: 

As you deliberate on the RH Bill, remember that you are Catholics! Please pray before your deliberation. 

PRAYER TO BE RECITED BY CATHOLIC MEMBERS OF LEGISLATIVE BODIES AND BY CATHOLIC POLITICIANS (By Pope Pius XII)

Great and eternal God, Creator and Lord of all things, foremost Legislator and supreme Ruler, all power emanates from Thee and depends on Thee; and those whose duty is to legislate, determine in Thy name what is just or unjust, as a reflection of Thy divine wisdom. Therefore, we, the Catholic members of Congress and Catholic politicians, upon whom rests the burden of a grave responsibility that places us at the center of the whole nation, implore Thy aid for the fulfillment of our office that we intend to accept and exercise for the greater spiritual and material welfare of our people.


Grant us such a sense of duty as will cause us to omit no preparation or effort for the realization of this noble end. Grant us also that objectivity and sound realism which will guide us on every occasion to a clear perception of that which seems the best. Grant that we may never deviate from that sound impartiality which dictates that we labor without unjust preferences for the good of all. Grant also that we may never fail in loyalty to our people, nor in firm adherence to the principles which we openly profess, nor in the noble resolve to preserve ourselves above all corruption and base selfish ambitions.


Help us to be calm in our deliberations and to be immune from all passion except as is inspired by the honest quest after truth. May our resolutions be in conformity with Thy precepts even if the service of Thy will should demand sufferings and sacrifices. May we, even in our own little way, endeavor to imitate that rectitude and holiness according to which Thou in Thy providence dost direct and govern everything for Thy greater glory and for the true well-being of human society and of all Thy creatures.


Hear us, O Lord, in order that our minds may never be without Thy light, nor our wills without Thy strength, nor our hearts without the warmth of Thy love, for we ought to have a tender love for our people. Keep far from us every form of human ambition and every kind of lust for illicit gain. Inspire us with a real, lively, and profound sentiment of what constitutes a sound social order wherein full regard is had for law and justice. Finally, as a supreme reward, grant us someday to enjoy Thy blessed presence for all eternity, in union with all those who have been entrusted in our care. Amen.